RAUZAT AS-SAFO (“GARDEN OF PURITY”)

Description

“Rauzat al-safa fi sirat al-anbiya wa-l-muluk wa-l-hulafa” (Garden of Purity regarding the Life of Prophets, Kings and Caliphs) is the fundamental work of one of the prominent historians of the Temurid era Mir Muhammad ibn Sayyid Burhan ad-Din Khond-Shah Ibn Kamal ad-Din Mahmoud al-Balkhi (Mirhond).

Mirhond lived and worked in Herat, one of the capital cities of the Temurid possessions, during the reign of Sultan Hussein Baykara (1469 – 1506), one of the most prominent representatives of the famous dynasty.

As a court historian, Mirhond enjoyed the continued patronage of Alisher Navoi, another iconic personality of that era, who was not only a citizen, statesman, poet and philanthropist, but also a friend of Hussein Baykara. It is known that Navoi supported the grandson of Mirhond, Hondamir. It was at the initiative of Navoi that Mirhond began work on writing chronicles of universal history – from the creation of the world to the events of 1522 – 1523.